Fishing Milfoil for Largemouth

Most of the bass fishing we do here in the north country is on lakes that are classified as mesotrophic bodies of water, but today we are talking about eutrophic lakes. These types of lakes carry large nutrient loads, typically have dirty water for massive algae blooms, and are often shallow. These are very fertile systems. They grow fish fast, but are often susceptible to summer or winter kill from lack of oxygen.

This lake in this particular video is loaded with bullheads, carp, golden shiners, fathead minnows, pike, panfish, perch and largemouth bass. The lake also has tremendous bass habitat in the form of wood, various types of weed cover, bog edges and even rock. Fisheries like this with ample habitat that can survive for a decade or more without a kill can produce the biggest bass anywhere in the north.

Milfoil

“No matter where you fish anywhere in the country, if it’s summertime and you’ve got good beds of milfoil, I guarantee you have some of the biggest bass in the lake living in them.” – Al Lindner

If you’ve even been to lake that appears as though it has endless acres of milfoil, you’ve probably asked yourself, “Where do I start?”. It’s a good question, because tackling massive milfoil flats can be very intimidating. Here’s how we do it:

We begin by identifying the biggest structures the lake has on a map. We look for points, pockets or distinct contour changes on those structures, then it gets down to the dirty work: fishing it.

If the area you selected on the map has lots of moss or algae growing on the milfoil, it’s usually best to find a new spot. There may be bass here, but it’s nearly impossible to fish through without hanging up. Finding clean milfoil is the key. Feel with your bait and watch your sonar for compositional changes on the bottom. It’s amazing how much bass love hard bottom in these milfoil beds. Always mark these spots on your GPS because sooner or later, the bass will show up there.